Carne Asada Mojo Marinade
Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence

Carne Asada Taco Plate with beans & rice

Mojo is a marinade used throughout the Caribbean and South America that uses citrus juices as a base. It is commonly applied to chicken, beef, pork or seafood as a tropical flavoring. This marinade combines citrus juices such as orange and lime or pineapple and carambola juice to make a thicker version or simply vinegar and possibly one juice added to a mixture of garlic, onions, herbs, cumin, salt and red pepper. It is a marinade that became popular in Cuba and then spread throughout the South American countries.

Also see What is Carne Asada? and J. Kenji López-Alt's recipe, The Best Carne Asada, at Serious Eats, which uses dried chilis to make a thicker marinade.

This recipe is for a fajita-style marinade. We love Tyler's fajita recipe, which uses a marinade that is almost the same as this mojo, save for some extra seasonings in the fajita recipe.

Tyler used this on flank steak which he then made tacos from, but this recipe could be used for chicken, kebabs, pork and any other meat you would like to grill. Save some of the marinade to use as a sauce on the finished dish.

Mojo:
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 large handful fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 limes, juiced
1 orange, juiced
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil (corn oil instead?)

In a mortar and pestle or bowl, mash together the garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, salt, and pepper to make a paste. Put the paste in a glass jar or plastic container. Add the lime juice, orange juice, vinegar, and oil. Shake it up really well to combine. Use as a marinade for chicken or beef or as a table condiment.

Yield: approximately 1 1/4 cups